Sure, we took some delight earlier today in pointing out some of the challenges that Vulture hero Ben Silverman has had to endure since taking the reins as NBC’s co-chairman of entertainment back in May 2007. But as Ben Silverman himself told the Los Angeles Times today, he’s not a programming honcho, he’s “a creative business executive” (“It’s a much different skill set [than programming],” he explained). Who then, pray tell, is going to be responsible for the future success of the network? Well, it’s certainly not Katherine “the Black Widow” Pope, whom Silverman dusted in a management shake-up back in November. Rather, it’s longtime Jeff Zucker lieutenant Angela Bromstad, who rejoined the network in January as the chief programmer of dramas and comedies.
Unlike her totally awesome boss, Bromstad professes that she’s not the least bit interested in becoming a media superstar. As she told the LAT, “I have always tried to fly a bit below the radar. I am a bit superstitious about it. The higher your profile the more of a target you sometimes become.” (We’ll temporarily forgive the hypocrisy of her giving a statement like that to the biggest newspaper in the state of California.) Which makes a lot of sense, considering her bumpy past with the network, which includes an incident two years ago where she quit her job as the president of NBC’s television production studio when she was passed over for a promotion. However, now that the first fruits of her labor are debuting tonight (Parks & Recreation and Southland), it appears that she’s more than willing to step up to the plate and put herself in a position to reap the benefits if these shows succeed.
Most important, though, Bromstad will be able to help Ben Silverman focus on whatever it is he supposedly does best (which clearly isn’t programming). As he puts it, “Her job is running scripted programming and my job is a thousand different things. She’s awesome.”
Troubled NBC calls on exec Angela Bromstad to revive prime time [LAT]
